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"Yeah Once" Rick Rick had brought me daisies and sunflowers But I didn’t say that "What do I do with theed, and I had no idea what the new expression et a better look His voice soft, he said, "They go in a vase On the nightstand by your bed Or on the kitchen table Or on the coffee table in the living roo them, remember that you deserve flowers" When I still just stood there, he said, "I’ll get a vase froet dressed And then we can have breakfast I brought beignets froet dressed" I could tell my voice sounded weird, but I turned and went tostupidly Flowers? I pulled on jeans and a T-shirt and braidedon makeup I finally put a touch of lipstick on ether to mush the color around until there was just a tint left And foundat ht Rick had brought ht me flowers

Flowers With catnip

My Beast was silent but excited, alert, and curious, ears flicking, eyes intent

I walked back into the living roonets and flowers to the kitchen Bruiser was facing the , drying his hands, backlit by thelight, so I could see only a profile, his brown hair darkened by glare, his nose a tad too strong for classical beauty, yet well for, capable His stance said he could handle anything, protect anyone, or die trying Sohtened in my middle

Behind him, on the table, was a cut crystal vase that had been in the butler’s pantry, the bouquet inside it, the blooms fluffed Short snips of steuely remembered that the stenets were on china plates fro china cups They were sitting on saucers, with tiny little napkins beside each There was real cream in a tiny pitcher I had seen soy And polished silver spoons And the flowers In a vase

Beast was peering out throughat my bouquet She sniffed and filled our/my head with the scent Catnip? she asked For Beast?

Yeah Catnip The fancy floere bad enough The catnip was so to fill the house

Bruiser had ement, he’d called it Then he had moved back out, and back into vamp HQ, to help with the transition of the old primo--him--to the new primo--Adelaide Noasn’t even a full-time blood-servant, or at least, that was the way I had interpreted theearlier I didn’t knohat he was to Leo And I didn’t knohat he was to ether in Natchez We had shared a few intense physical ic But I had no idea what any of it o

Bruiser seemed to sense me behind him and turned I stuck my hands in my pockets and frowned His face emotionless, he moved around the table and pulled out a chair I kne to do this I’d been taught proper Southern manners in the children’s home But I hadn’t practiced in more than a decade Shoulders hunched, I took ainly half crouch that allowed him to push my chair in the requisite few inches

Bruiser handed h He ar and creamer closer I added both to rees, and only inches, away from me The house wassoftly My pal fast The air conditioner came on It was May, and already hot in the Deep South

I expected Bruiser to put food on my plate and nets Instead he lifted a box from the basket and set it in front of me, to the side of my dainty cup

The box was old paper with a darker gold bow, the ties all long and curly From the way he handled it, the box was too heavy for jewelry, which wasat the box, I could tell that whatever it held was expensive Even the paper looked like it cost a s I was pretty sure I wasn’t breathing

I dragged in a breath, scrubbed my sweaty hands dry onthe ties until the ribbon fell away, My fingers were stiff and clu it It see to the side and opened the plain white box Inside was a second box, this one of carved wood, put together ooden pegs The wood felt old when I touched it, but well-oiled I lifted the lid Nesting within, on a swath of red velvet, was a knife, secured in a scabbard

My mouth went parched, ers and vibrated throughat h air

Bruiser said, "It’s a Mughal Eer fro or lift my eyes from the wondrous scabbard, he went on "The knife was htly curved blade with a central ridge and double grooves It has a gold-overlaid palehtly, breathing deeply to catch up on lost air, I lifted the scabbarded dagger and pulled the blade free, holding it to the side so thelight fell on it The steel was beautiful, with a blued sheen that spoke of careful ith forge and hammer There were nicks in the blade, but Bruiser hadn’t honed thelad They had history, each nick and scratch

Bruiser, his voice the caressing lilt of a weapons lover, said, "The jade hilt has hand-carved scroll quillons centered with a carved stylized lotus leaf, and the poold inlay and set with golden topaz for the eyes"